1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to collecting and transporting samples, and more particularly to a device for collecting and transporting solid and semi-solid samples in food and other industries.
2. Description of the Related Art
The dairy industry typically samples finished products such as hard and soft ice cream, cheese and so on, as well as loose ingredients such as cookies, nuts, chips, fudge, etc., on a daily basis for assuring that quality standards are met on a continual basis. Depending on the size of the manufacturing facility and the number of product offerings, the number of samples taken can easily reach the hundreds each day.
The collection of relatively hard food samples typically involves food collection systems with a corer or scoop that separates a relatively small sample from a main body of the product and a container for shipping the sample to a laboratory for analysis. Separation of the food sample with a corer involves inserting the corer into the main body of the product then rotating the corer, while separation with the scoop involves only longitudinal motion of the scoop with respect to the bulk or main body. Typically, the corer is formed with at least one flat surface to break the food sample from the main body during rotation. Design of the corer including an important flat surface thereof together with the hardness of the material often determine the amount of torque required to separate the food sample. For products such as hard ice cream or cheese, the required torque is relatively high and therefore demands a strenuous effort by the individual taking the sample.
Moreover, the collection of relatively hard samples requires a corer, while the collection of relatively soft or loose samples requires a scoop, thereby adding to the overall cost of quality control.
In addition, the corers, scoops and containers are typically reusable and are therefore constructed of materials that can be sterilized, such as stainless steel for the corers or scoops, and heat-resistant glass for the containers. The material and manufacturing costs of the corers, scoops and containers utilizing such materials is relatively high. Furthermore, the time and resources involved in returning such food collection systems from the laboratory, as well as the cleaning and sterilizing processes prior to taking samples greatly increases the costs associated with quality control, especially when hundreds of samples are taken each day.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for taking samples of products and storing such samples without the threat of contamination.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a device for collecting and storing a sample from a product that has a combination corer and scoop to thereby collect samples that are hard, soft, and loose with a single device; the device capable of withstanding a relatively high torque.
It is an even further object of the invention to provide a device for collecting and storing a sample from a product that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use.
According to the invention, a device for collecting and storing a sample from a product comprises a container having an open end and a sample collection unit. The sample collection unit has a cap that is adapted to close the container open end, a handle that extends rearwardly from the cap, and a coring scoop that extends forwardly from the cap and being sized to fit within the container when the container is closed by the cap. The coring scoop includes a pair of spaced side wall portions that are integrally joined by a curved connecting wall portion with a center of curvature to form an open channel into which a sample is received during sample collection. Preferably, the side wall portions are substantially straight. With this arrangement, rotation of the sample collection unit about the center of curvature in the product forms a sample of the product in the open channel with the side wall portions pushing surrounding product away from the sample.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, a device for collecting and storing a sample from a product comprises a container having an open end and a sample collection unit. The sample collection unit has a cap that is adapted to close the container open end, a handle that extends rearwardly from the cap, and a coring scoop that extends forwardly from the cap and being sized to fit within the container when the container is closed by the cap. The handle comprises first and second beams that extend rearwardly from the cap and intersect each other along a longitudinal centerline to thereby form a plurality of torque arms that extend radially from the centerline. With this arrangement, rotation of the sample collection unit in the product about the longitudinal centerline forms a sample of the product in the coring scoop.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and appended claims, and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.